I asked my husband to give me one excuse why we are not making this tomorrow, and he came up with nothing (even the fact that we have NONE of the ingredients at home at the time was not given as an excuse, and he's a Master of excuses)... I guess, I have to run to the store in the morning.

My aunt has been making these for years, also known in my family as "black-bottom cupcakes". And I always thought she invented the recipe! (I did notice at least one variation, though - my recipe calls specifically for apple cider vinegar.)

I love that the cream cheese makes a sort of sink-hole in them. And the chewy/crunchiness of the choc chips after they've been baked in. I make them here in Australia for charity bakesales, and people are always impressed.

I made these this evening because the recipe sounded so simply awesome. I forgot the chocolate chips, though, (oops!) and they were still fantastic—and so easy. Thanks for posting this! I will totally make them again.

My mother-in-law gave me this recipe years ago and they are always a hit to take places, like school or work. I'm not as dedicated as you, though...I use Betty C's devil's food cake mix & no pb chips. I'll have to try your version!

update - we made the cupcakes today. they were extreemly easy to make (for a newbie), they came out perfect. and so delisiously gooey (they did not look like a picture, though, they had a perfect smooth top)

You know what would be good in this recipe? Dare I say it? ORANGE, specifically orange zest or a few drops of orange oil added to the filling. (But if used, I'd leave out the peanut butter chips.) I once added peppermint oil to brownies and that was a big hit, too.Also, for the vegetable oil (which generally means corn oil), I recommend coconut oil!I'm not into frosting either -- nice to see someone freely admit that on her blog.

well i did indeed try these but i had no muffin tins so i used an 8x8 pan and cooked them for 45 minutes. perfect! they are delicious and the recipe is very easy. i do not like frosting either and the cream cheese is a wonderful 'substitute'. thank you for the recipe!!

holy cow. they're in the oven and smell sooooo good! and the batter and raw frosting tasted GREAT! (salmonella be damned!) i have a batch of regular-size for the adults (read: ME!) and a batch of minis for the kids.

I found your recipe while searching the web for a new chocolate dessert. Served these cupcakes at a dinner party for some choc-o-holic friends and they were a big hit. Extremely easy and very tasty. Thanks so much!

I've made these several times now and they're delicious! Thanks! In the summer I've also made them with fresh blueberries in the cheesecakey bit instead of chocolate chips and was very pleased with the results.

One question: I'm living in the UK now, and the fairy cake tins are, sadly, too shallow to make these properly. Do you think it would work out as a sheet cake?

thanks!! super-yum! I made these as mini-cupcakes for my brother's wedding a few days ago, huge hit!!! A friend of mine loved it so much he ate part of the papercup... haha. I baked them for 20 mins instead of 25 as they were mini. You can substitute half of the water with milk for an even richer chocolate, but will only yield 12-14 regular sized cupcakes. Have been asked for the recipe so sending ppl over to your site...

We have maded these for years we call them Black Bottem Cupcakes and they are a staple for our Christmas Baking... However we make them as mini cupcakes we find the the cream cheese filling can be two much of a good deal & over power the cake...Also they can be topped with chopped walmuts & sugar mixture.